Chest binder



Filed May 13, 1965 E. GOLDSTEIN CHEST BINDER- Fig. 2

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

EUGENE GOLDSTE'IN ATTORNEY P 1968 E. GOLDSTEIN 3,400,710

CHEST BINDER Filed May 13, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 6

INVENTOR. EUGENE GOLDSTFIN ATToRmY v United States Patent 3,400,710CHEST BINDER Eugene Goldstein, Kansas City, Mo., assignor t0 H. G.Enterprises, a co-partnership Filed May 13, 1965, Ser. No. 455,459 3Claims. (Cl. 128-78) 7 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A chest binder whichhas a rear elastic section of uniformwidth that extends entirely acrossthe back of the wearer and to which are secured a pair of inextensi-blesections that are adjustably secured together at their forward ends toextend around the body at the chest. There is a mens and a 'womens formillustrated both of which have the top and bottom edges of theinextensible sections extending downwardly from their rear ends to theirforward ends so as to cause the entire inextensible section on each sideto extend downwardly toward the front end. Each of the inextensiblesections of the mens binder is cut out at the top edge under the armpitand each of the inextensible sections of the womens binder tapersgradually from the back section to its front end. The parts are soproportioned that the inextensible parts will lie in engagement with thesides and front wall of the chest while the extensible section willextend only across the back.

My invention relates to chest binders, and more particularly to chestbinders for supporting fractured or otherwise injured ribs.

Chest binders that have been used for the purpose 0 supporting the ribstructure of human beings ordinarily have been made either entirely ofinextensible material or entirely of extensible material. Chest bindersmade entirely of inextensible material, when fitted to the body closelyenough to serve their purpose, fit around the body so tightly thatbreathing of the wearer-is interfered with, breathing being quitedifficult for wearers of such inextensible chest binders. Chest bindersmade entirely of extensible material allow the chest to move so thatthere is likelihood of slippage out of proper position and provideinsufficient rib support.

It is a purpose of my invention to provide a rib supporting chest binderthat is capable of carrying out all the supporting functions of aninextensible chest binder, but which is so made that the same willextend sufiiciently during breathing that the breathing of the wearerthereof will not be interfered with. In order to accomplish this purposethe chest binder is so made that the portion thereof which engages theback of the wearer is of such an extensible character that it will givesufficiently to permit the wearer of the binder to breathe without anydifficulty and the parts of the binder that engage the chest and thesides of the wearer are inextensible so that the supporting propertythereof is not reduced.

More specifically my invention comprises a rib supporting chest binderthat has an extensible rear section such as above referred to, which ismade of a strong elastic fabric material and a pair of sections ofinextensible fabric, each secured at one end thereof to an end of therear section, which inextensi-ble fabric sections engage the sides andchest of the wearer, and means for adjustably connecting the front endsof these inextensible sections to embrace the body of the wearer.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide chest binders of theabove referred to character that are particularly adapted for use bymale persons and chest binders that are particularly adapted for use byfemale persons.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear as thedescription of the drawings proceeds. I de- 3,400,7 l0 Patented Sept.10, 1968 "ice sire to have it understood, however, that I do not intendto limit myself to the particular details shown or described, except as'defined in the claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chest binder in substantially theposition it would have on the body of a wearer, said chest binder beingparticularly adapted for wear by male persons.

FIG. 2 is a similar view of a chest binder particularly adapted for wearby female persons.

FIG. 3 is a view of the chest binder shown in FIG. 1 in a flatcondition, showing the inner face thereof, the mid-portion of theelastic back engaging portion being broken away.

FIG. 4 is a similar view of the chest binder shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a section taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 1, on a greatlyenlarged scale.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section on an enlarged scale, taken on the line6-6 of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 7 is a similar section taken on the line 77 of FIG. 3.

Referring in detail to the drawings, in FIG. 1 is shown a chest binderwith a rear back engaging section 10 of strong elastic fabric, which isadapted to extend in the direction of length of said rear section 10.The chest binder shown in FIG. 1 is also provided with a pair ofinextensible sections 11, which are connected with the op posite ends ofthe extensible section by a plurality of rows of stitching 12, such asshown in FIG. 7. The inextensible sections 11 are provided withsubstantially straight bottom edges 13, with substantially straight endedges 14 and each with a top edge that has a slightly convexly curvedportion 15 and a concavely curved portion 16, which is adjacent the rearend edge thereof that is joined to the rear elastic section 10, theconcavely curved portion 16 being provided so that the binder can bebrought up closely under the arms of the wearer, the concavity beingprovided so as to fit into the arm pits of the wearer. It will be notedthat both the top and bottom edges of the sections 11 incline downwardlyfrom the rear section 10 to the end edge 14. The sections 11 thusincline downwardly relative to the back section 10. This provides aclose fit of the chest binder to the body. The elastic section 10 isprovided with substantially straight top and bottom edges 18 and 19 andwith straight end edges where the same are connected with theinextensible sections 11. A binding 20 extends around the top and bottomedges of the inextensible sections and the end edges 14. The elasticportion 10 is of such a length that it will only extend across the backof the body of the wearer of the binder, and when the binder is inposition on the body of the wearer the inextensible portions 11 willengage with both the sides and the chest of the wearer.

The inner face of the one section 11 of said binder is provided withtabs 21 and the outer face of the other section 11 of said binder isprovided with tabs 22. The tabs 21 are made of a fabric material thathas hook shaped portions 23 and the tabs 22 of a fabric material thathas loop portions 24, the hook portions 23 being adapted to engage theloop portions 24 of the tabs 22 to adjustably detachably secure the twosections 11 to each other at the front of the body of the wearer, thetabs 21 and 22 being separable fastening devices of a well known typehaving these characteristics. The inextensible sections 11 arepreferably each provided with a pair of stays 25 at substantially thejunction of the convexly curved portion 15 and the concavely curvedportion 16 of each of said sections, said stays being secured inposition by rows of stitching 26 extending through strips of tape 27 andthe body portion of each of the sections 11.

In placing the chest binder in position around the body of the wearer itis adjusted by means of the interengaging tabs 21 and 22 so as to be fitas tightly as possible around the body when the air is expelled from thelungs. It will then bind the ribs tightly both when the patient breathesin and out. When expansion of the chest occurs in breathing, the elasticrear section will extend sufficiently to permit this, but the inelasticsections will still bind the chest at the sides and at the front of thebody sufficiently that the ribs will be properly supported.

The form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 is particularly adaptedfor use by male persons. The form of the invention shown in FIGS. 2 and4 is particularly adapted for use by female persons. It is provided witha rear section 10 that is a duplicate of the rear section of the chestbinder shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The front sections 11, however, are notprovided with a stay, as are the sections 11, and are provided with tabs21' and 22 that are similar to the tabs 21 and 22 and are used in thesame manner.

The inextensible sections 11 are of the same character as the sections11, but are shaped differently, the bottom edges 13 being substantiallystraight and incline downwardly as in the form of the invention shown inFIGS. 1 and 3, but the top edges 28 incline gradually continuouslydownwardly from the ends of the sections 11' connected with the rearsection 10 to the substantially straight forward edge 14 of each of saidsections, the sections 11' thus inclining downwardly with respect to theback section 10. Said sections 11' are provided with a binding 20 aroundthe marginal edges thereof, as in the form of the invention shown inFIGS. 1 and 3. The two sections 11' are adjustably secured together bythe tabs 21 and 22' in the same manner as the sections 11 are securedtogether by the tabs 21 and 22.

Preferably the top edges 28 are slightly concavely curved, as will beevident from FIG. 4, and the sections 10 and 11 are secured together byrows of stitching in the same manner as are the sections 10 and 11. Thepurpose of the downwardly inclined top edge 28 is to avoid theengagement of and binding of the breasts of the female person wearingthe chest binder shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, as this would not only beundesirable, but would interfere with the desired supporting action ofthe binder with respect to the ribs.

What I claim is:

1. A rib supporting chest binder comprising an elastic rear section ofuniform width and of a length to extend entirely across the back of thewearer and a pair of inextensible sections of variable width eachsecured at one end to an end of said rear section and extending endwisefrom said rear section, said inextensible-sections having both the topand bottom edges thereof inclining downwardly from the ends thereofsecured to said rear section to the other ends thereof, and means fordetachably adjustably connecting the other endsof said inextensiblesections to embrace the body of the wearer with saidinextensiblesections engaging the front and sides of the chest of the wearer.

2. A chest binder such as claimed in claim 1 in which said inextensiblesections each has a top edge that has a concavely curved portionadjacent the end thereof secured to said rear section and a stayextendingacross each of said inextensible sections immediately forwardlyof the portion having said concavely curved top edge portion, each ofsaid inextensible sections being of substantially the same width as saidrear section from said stay to said other end thereof.

3. A chest binder such as claimed in claim 1 in which said inextensiblesections each has a top edge that inclines downwardly continuously fromthe end thereof secured to said rear section to the other end thereof toprovide a substantially uniform taper to each of said inextensiblesections from the end thereof secured to said rear section to said otherend thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,908,906 6/1933 Loeb 128-782,723,664 11/1955 Davis 128-78 3,052,226 9/ 1962 Schrieber 128-7 83,054,400 9/1962 Lizio 128-163 3,096,760 7/1963 Nelkin 12878 1,048,55312/1912 Loewy.

1,433,573 10/ 1922 Stuart.

1,948,076 2/1934 Notes.

1,218,414 3/1917 Klass.

2,465,754 3/ 1949 Rubinger.

2,723,396 11/1955 Stack.

2,970,597 2/1961 Michel.

3,013,561 12/1961 Nelkin.

2,662,522 12/1953 Muller.

OTHER REFERENCES Catalog of DePuy Manufacturing Co., Inc., 1964, p. 86,Models 555 and 556.

Catalog of Zimmer Manufacturing Co., 1963, p. 106.

L. W. TRAPP, Primary Examiner.

